Long Beach Youth Opportunity Center

The Youth Opportunity Center is a source for no-cost education and employment services for Long Beach youth ages 14-24. Programs such as Hire-A-Youth and the Green Jobs Center help young people develop the skills, gain the experience and make the connections they need to get hired in today’s economy.

Five hundred youth ages 18-24 will have access to employment opportunities, and 250 youth ages 16-17 will have opportunities to participate in a stipend-based internship this summer, thanks to the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network Hire-A-Youth program.

The Summer Youth Employment Training Program was made possible through federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.
More than 285 employers benefited from 209,000 hours of subsidized employment by 1,040 youth who earned more than $1,503,556 in payroll, and spent at least a portion of it at area businesses, schools or training.

If you are between the ages of 16-24, motivated to learn the skills necessary to get employed, and live in Lomita, Long Beach, Signal Hill, or Torrance, you will want to take advantage of free training that will get you ready for the world of work and help you earn a nationally recognized work credential that will provide an edge in job interviews.

The City of Long Beach has won the National League of Cities’ Award for Municipal Excellence for Creating a Youth-Driven Career Center program.
The Creating a Youth-Driven Career Center program is a reinvention of the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network’s youth service strategies, which focuses on providing opportunities to engage youth in the design and creation of physical spaces, outreach messages, collateral materials, actual products, key policy-making and critical community connections.

Youth ages 16 – 24 who reside in Long Beach, Lomita, Signal Hill, and Torrance can get free information on training, careers, employment search, and education — whether high school or college — at the free Youth Info Expo on September 30, 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the Hire-A-Youth Center, 2311 South Street, Long Beach.